Chocolate, Secrets, and Love?
by spellflight17084
Summary: Remus Lupin has woken up from his monthly transformations to find a welcoming bar of chocolate from an anonymous source since his second year. Now in his sixth, Remus is closer to solving the mystery than ever, but with each closer step, he risks revealing his secret to those other than his closest friends. Rated T for some violence and romance in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Remus Lupin awoke in the hospital wing after a particularly tough night in the Shrieking Shack to a slant of midday light across the stone floor. He gently sat up in the bed that he had frequented over the past two years, attempting, in vain, to ignore the ache in his bones caused by his monthly transfigurations. While taking account of the new scars that adorned his body, Remus thought of the suspicious looks received from his friends in the Gryffindor house when he excused his upcoming absence with the excuse of a dying grandmother.

_"Didn't your grandmother die last year Remus?"_ James Potter's words continued to echo in his head. _Why wasn't I more careful? I should have known that they would have remembered that excuse._ He continued to think to himself as the light gradually shifted further across the floor. The shuffling of a young Madame Pomfrey was enough to call Remus back from the deep recesses of his mind where his darkest secret had taken resident.

"Good morning Madame Pomfrey," Remus spoke softly, avoiding any unnecessary movement of his bruised ribs.

"Good afternoon Mr. Lupin," she corrected with a small chuckle. A smile adorned her rounded face, but it did little to hide the sadness of the young boy's suffering that was evident in her eyes. "It's time for your dose of Murtlap Essence." The boy reflexively shrank back from the kind nurse at the mere mention of the horrid substance. He forced the cruel liquid down his throat while simultaneously fighting the gagging that threatened to send it back up.

The first time he had taken the foul potion he had given in to the need to remove it from his body. Remus had learned the hard way that taking Murtlap Essence a second time far surpassed the misery of the first. Remembering this scarring experience from his first experience in the hospital wing as a timid first year, he swallowed the remaining dose and lunged for the glass of water that always inhabited the table beside his cot. The boy quickly consumed the water in the hope that it would ride his tortured mouth of the vile taste.

With a quick flick of her wand and a whisper of _Aguamenti_, Madame Pomfrey easily refilled Remus's empty glass. "You are free to leave whenever you feel ready to Mr. Lupin," she stated as she turned to aid an ill student who lay on a nearby cot before the boy had a chance to respond. _She's probably just busy this morning_, he thought to himself. _Or_, a darker side of him mused,_ she's disgusted by me, of what I am_.

Filled with self-loathing, Remus placed the glass back on the table. Upon doing so the boy became aware of a single bar of chocolate, with a small note placed tenderly on top, adjacent to the glass. He had never before received a gift of any kind during his times in the hospital wing. The boy hesitantly seized the note and brought it to eye level. _I hope this helps,_ the note said in a sloppy cursive scrawl.

_It must have been Madame Pomfrey,_ he reasoned, _it had to be. It couldn't be anyone else. No one else could know._ Temporarily calming his anxiety, Remus reached for the chocolate bar and took a look at the wrapper which had "Cadbury Chocolate" printed neatly across it. He split the candy open, broke off a small corner and placed it in his mouth. The chocolate quickly melted, filling his taste buds with its sweet and savory flavor. _Madame Pomfrey was right, it did help, _Remus reflected.

He carefully wrapped up the remaining chocolate and pulled himself together, preparing himself for the questions that would surely come from his classmates. The boy took once last sip of water, straightened the bedding on the cot, and collected the chocolate bar. His footsteps echoed as he ambled across the stone floor, coming to a pause at the young nurse's office.

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey, especially for the chocolate bar," Remus spoke quietly as the nurse looked up from her work.

"You're very welcome Mr. Lupin, but I'm afraid the chocolate was not from me," she replied with only a short glance up. "Have a nice day."

"You too," he replied with his mind racing. _If it wasn't Madame Pomfrey, who could have left me the chocolate and the note? _The question filled his mind as he journeyed back to the welcoming Gryffindor common room. _And even more, _he continued to muse_, who knows of my secret? _These questions consumed so much of his thought that the boy did not realize where he was until he reached the fat lady.

"Password?" the painted woman demanded, dragging Remus from his contemplations.

"Flibbertigibbet," he uttered and stepped through the opening to the faces of his closest friends.

"How's your grandmother doing Remus?" Sirius questioned as he threw a friendly arm around the boy's shoulders.

"She seems like she's doing a bit better, but it's difficult to tell. The healers say that we just have to wait and see."

"Well at least it seems like she's looking up," James said with a smile from his place next to Peter by the fire.

"Yeah," Remus replied, his friends bringing a smile to his face. _Well maybe I should just wait to see if someone brings up the chocolate instead of spilling my secret to the wrong person. It was probably meant for someone else anyway and it was accidently left next to my cot, _he assured himself. With these thoughts, Remus took a place beside Sirius, James and Peter, and easily returned to his normal life. Well as normal of a life as a werewolf can expect.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Moony, everything's going to be fine. Stop worrying," Sirius said with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Yeah Moony, we've been practicing all summer. And don't worry, we'll take care of you," a winking James continued.

"It's not me that I'm worried about," Remus replied to his friends. The first transformation of his sixth year was fast approaching and James, Sirius, and Peter had been practicing their transformations into their newly discovered animagi. "I just don't trust myself. I don't have any control when I'm like that."

"We know mate, that's why we've taken every precaution to make sure you won't harm us, or anyone else for that matter," James reassured him as Peter nodded his head in agreement. Peter had been a shy boy since the marauders had all met in their first year. Even now in their sixth year, he rarely truly expressed himself with anyone but his closest friends.

"You know you're never going to win this battle Moony, so just give up," Sirius concluded the argument and went back to the game of exploding snap which he and James had been playing all evening. Instead of replying, Remus simply went back to his transfiguration essay.

"DO YOU BOYS HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?" came a booming voice from across the common room. It came from no other than Gwenog Jones, the boisterous seventh year who was one of the best beaters Gryffindor house had ever had. "PRACTICE STARTS IN FIVE MINUTES!"

"We know Jones. Who do you think made the schedule?" Sirius coolly stated as the beater's face became red with fury.

"Sirius," Remus addressed him with a disapproving glare, "do you really want to tick off one of the only people on the field that possesses a bat?"

"He's right Padfoot, we should probably get down to the pitch," James sighed as he put away the game. He had become much more mature after being elected as the team captain the previous year, but seemed often not to enjoy his new found responsibilities.

"Thank you. You know, sometimes I think Remus is the only one out of all of you who has any sense. Spiers, Hatton, and Longbottom are already on the field and Prewett is in detention for punching that Slytherin," she said tersely and excited through the portrait hole hoping not to be late herself.

"Come on Padfoot, let's go. Are you coming to watch again Wormtail?" Prongs inquired with a laugh.

"Of course, what else is there to do? Are you coming too Moony?" Peter replied as he got up from his place in front of the fire. Remus debated for a moment. Did he really want to sit here and dread the upcoming full moon? Quidditch might be a decent distraction, especially because this essay was not doing anything to take his mind off things.

"Sure, I might as well." He and Peter hurried up to their dorm to grab their jumpers and headed out to the Quidditch pitch.

James and Sirius zoomed by on their brooms as Remus and Peter took a seat in the empty stands. "Oi, watch it," Peter's shout was drowned out by the laughter of the two boys. Remus observed the Gryffindors as they executed their flying exercises.

As captain, James led the pack with graceful swerves and was directly followed by Sirius and Frank Longbottom, making up the three chasers. Longbottom, who was the oldest member of the team, flew with a quiet force that demanded respect on the field, but was truly quite awkward when not. Next came the beater, Jones with a space left for her absent partner, Gideon Prewett, a brut of a fifth year who had a reputation for playing rough.

Following close behind was the perky fifth year, Jordan Spiers. Her long chestnut hair sailed behind her as she flew with the elegance required of a seeker. Out of all the girls sorted into Gryffindor house, Miss Spiers was one of the most beautiful, but also seemed very friendly.

Bringing up the rear of this flying convoy was the team's new keeper, and the marauder's fellow classmate, Miss Clara Hatton. Her ponytail, the color of black coffee, peaked out from below her helmet as she veered back and forth. Hatton was by far the clumsiest member of the team, but she blocked the majority of the other teams' shots.

Spiers threw a wink at Remus as the group completed a final lap around the Quidditch pitch. "Eh, got an admirer there Moony," Peter nudged him with his elbow.

_She must have just had something in her eye,_ Remus thought to himself. _Why would she wink at me? I don't think that I've said more than five words to her before. Besides, with my condition, any girl would be repulsed by me._

"Hmm? I hadn't noticed," he replied, brushing off the wink. _It's better to avoid a relationship that's only going to end in pain._


End file.
